| Roller Derby was a staple of the early television era | | | | "Rollergirls" had become a full blown cultural |
| and was similar in its promotional format to its better | | | | phenomenon. There are now literally hundreds of local |
| known "sports entertainment" cousin, professional | | | | "roller girl" leagues in the US, many under the auspices |
| wrestling. It was frequently seen in the same bad time | | | | of a national organization called the Womens Flat |
| slots on the same low powered UHF TV stations, and | | | | Track Derby Association. Las Vegas has the 'Sin City |
| it was run by the same loose confederation of | | | | Roller Girls', Portland, Oregon the 'Rose City Rollers" |
| Runyanesque promoters and businessmen that | | | | and Seattle the 'Rat City Rollers'. There are now |
| characterized the regional territory era of pro wrestling. | | | | groups in not only the larger and traditionally "hipper" |
| Unfortunately, roller derby didn't catch on the way | | | | cities but also smaller flyover country environs such as |
| professional wrestling did. There was obviously a | | | | Birmingham, Alabama and Omaha, Nebraska and all |
| serious athletic component to it, but the "angles" and | | | | over Canada, Europe and Australia. Most of the local |
| storylines surrounding roller derby made pro wrestling | | | | groups similarly play up the campy retro pin-up/hot rod |
| seem like Ibsen by comparison. The sport does have | | | | iconography and everyone involved sure looks like |
| its own history--most know that the LA T-Birds were | | | | they're having a good time. Between teams there's a |
| the perennial champions of 1970's, and Ann Calvello | | | | vibe of good natured competitiveness and |
| and Ralphie Valladares had been in the sport forever | | | | camaraderie. |
| and were considered legends--but it never really stuck | | | | This organic rebirth and growth of roller derby is a |
| in the public consciousness like the pre-Hulk Hogan era | | | | result of young women taking what essentially was |
| of pro wrestling. | | | | TV time filler and made it into their own distaff 'action |
| New era roller derby reached a national audience | | | | sport'. The community that has sprung up around it |
| through the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It | | | | bears a striking resemblance to the skateboarding or |
| featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, | | | | snowboarding subculture. Granted, there are plenty of |
| Texas and followed the lives of the players on and off | | | | talented female skateboarders and snowboarders but |
| the track. While the show was oddly engaging, it was | | | | they're typically male dominated disciplines. The roller |
| the first clue that many had that such a league existed | | | | derby circa 2009 is just the opposite--a living, breathing |
| in the first place. A sport that was never taken | | | | matriarchal success story. No one is in it for the |
| seriously to begin with and that was really living on | | | | money, as these local groups are typically run as |
| borrowed time since the 1960's before fading into the | | | | non-profit organization. The women involved have |
| lowest level of obscurity had been rediscovered and | | | | recreated this sport, and run it, promote it and compete |
| embraced by an eclectic group of young women. | | | | in it on their own terms. |
| They had kept the same essential format, thrown in a | | | | The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to their |
| healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up | | | | sports' pioneers much in the same way that |
| inspired glamor and made it into their own vibrant | | | | skateboarders give props to Duane Peters and Tony |
| subculture. They changed some of the nomenclature | | | | Alva. Many of the individual group websites have |
| and competitive format--in lieu of regularly scheduled | | | | sections devoted to the history of roller derby, and the |
| games they renamed the competitions "bouts" a la | | | | late Ann Calvello--regarded as the Queen of the |
| MMA or boxing. The result was a compelling mixture | | | | original Roller Derby--is revered as something of a |
| of glamour, toughness and athleticism driven by a | | | | patron saint. The Texas Rollergirl group featured in the |
| healthy dose of punk rock "do it yourself" mentality. | | | | A&E series has renamed their championship the |
| Today, the same sort of league featured on | | | | Calvello Cup. |